The Good. The Bad. And the Travels.

September 3, 2013November 6, 2013

Goodbye, Summer

I just celebrated my first Labor Day weekend, y’all, and with it the last weekend of the summer! I have to say, whoever came up with this holiday was a genius. Where else do you get a long weekend to celebrate the last warm days before the fall? I know, I know, officially we are celebrating the social and economic achievements of the workers and labor unions in the US, which, don’t get me wrong, is a great reason to celebrate too. But honestly, it always seemed a little strange to me that the US and Canada set their own date for Labor Day, while the whole world dedicates May 1st to the workers. I understand that President Cleveland had his reasons, but come on! We all know that the REAL reason behind this date, is to have one last big summer party. People in Cincinnati understand that perfectly by organizing a huge river-fest on Labor Day weekend. Its big highlight: the fireworks! Of course, I had to go and check it out.

It seemed like at least half the city had the same idea. Obviously, this number is a rough guestimate, but judging by the time it took to get into and (especially!!!) out of the parking lot, I am sure it was somewhere close to a bajillion. I have never seen so many cars in Cincinnati before, not to mention the masses of people pouring out of them towards Riverfest. From the parking lot until finally finding a spot to sit down, pretty much everything I remember is tangled up in a ball of people: people strolling around, people looking for food, people looking for each other, people laughing and people yelling, people with mohawks, people with dreadlocks, people in biker gear, people with ties, and even people all a-zombied up. On the one hand: sensory overload, on the other hand: fascinating! I almost forgot that I had come to see the fireworks. Being a little overwhelmed, I took the first free spot that I saw, spread out my blanket, and waited. And there it came, the countdown. Only one more minute until the fireworks (by the way, maybe somebody can tell me why the fireworks start at 9:05 PM, which seems like the most random time in the world to start anything). A final drum roll and the show began: the sky was burning and the river was on fire. There was glitter, there was gold, there were stars and even a waterfall. For 30 minutes I was dazzled by the most impressive pyro show that I have ever seen. What a wonderful way to say goodbye to summer!

In the end, who cares if Americans celebrate Labor Day on the wrong date? If they can throw such a great party, as far as I am concerned, they can celebrate Labor Day any day they want!